“Do you think that’s what your father had in mind when he asked you and Meggie to come down here? Not only to patch things up with your grandfather, but to rescue your cousins?”
“Aye, lass. I’m sure of it. I just wish I had realized it sooner. He must have regretted doing nothing for them after their father died. Not that there were any outward signs of their ill treatment. Quite the opposite, they were given every material advantage, best clothes, best schools, best society. But he knew the ogre his father was and did nothing to protect them from the more insidious abuses. So, will you help me?”
She nodded. “Of course, but what can I do?” Other than make rash decisions that create messes.
“I was hoping you’d help me come up with a plan.” He rose with only a hint of discomfort from his injury and drew her up beside him. “Lily, how do I honor my father’s wishes and make us a loving family again?”
“I don’t know. Why look to me?”
“Because you’re the only one I trust to help me. You’re clever and honest.”
She shook her head. “A little too honest, at times.”
“You’re gentle and kind, and having been raised in a loving family, you’re the best person to teach us about bestowing love on others.” He cast her a sloppy grin. “No matter how despicable those others might be.”
Her stomach was fluttering again, but when did it not when Ewan was about? She loved the soft way he was now looking at her. “I’ll give it thought.”
“Thank you, lass. I’m in your hands. I’ll do anything you ask.”
Kiss me.
But she was an utter coward and would never reveal how she truly felt.
CHAPTER 10
“SHAVE? YOU WANT ME to shave my whiskers?” Ewan ought to have known better than to ask for Lily’s help. She was young and bookish, and she must have been speaking to Meggie about his damned beard.
“And you’ll need a new wardrobe.” And speaking to Eloise about his need for fashionable clothes.
“Anything else?” he asked, not bothering to hide his irritation. No wonder the lass had asked to meet him for a ride in Hyde Park. She’d said it was to see how Hades behaved when saddled, but he now understood the real reason. The little bluestocking wanted him out in the open where he would be forced to behave while she spouted her ridiculous advice.
They had started out riding as a group, he and Meggie joined by Lily, her twin sister, and their cousin William, a young man who seemed to find Meggie infinitely delightful and entertaining. He’d have to watch that lad. If he was thinking about Meggie the way Ewan was thinking of Lily, he’d skin the young bounder alive.
Lily cut through his thoughts with her gentle laughter. “Can you blame William for being infatuated with Meggie? She looks beautiful in the green velvet riding habit, which you paid an arm and a leg for, by the way. Worth it, don’t you think?”
At the moment, he and Lily were alone on this cool but gloriously sun-filled, afternoon, the others having gone ahead to introduce Meggie to more Farthingales who happened to be out riding in the park. Jasper, as ever, trotted alongside his horse, gazing up at Lily with his tongue hanging out of his mouth and tail feverishly wagging in adoration. Not that he blamed Jasper. Lily had him panting as well.
She looked sinfully innocent in black velvet, the soft fabric hugging her sensual curves and driving him insane with her every casual movement. He had an overpowering itch to run his hands up and down the lush velvet, slowly strip it off her slight frame, and warm her naked body with his tongue and fingers.
Lord! He was going directly to hell, no bloody doubt about it.
“Ewan? Are you listening to me? What do you think of Meggie?”
“You’ve done a nice job with her, Lily. It isn’t just about her new clothes. She’s no longer a weepy little thing who’s afraid of her own shadow. You’ve set the example, shown her how to be strong and trust in herself.”
She laughed. “Do go on. I’m liking this conversation very much. I didn’t know I was quite this fabulous.”
You are. “I was complimenting Meggie,” he teased, “not you. You’re an annoying little bluestocking who’s trying to turn me into an English gentleman.”
Her eyes rounded in mock horror. “Perish the thought! I don’t wish to change you. However, your table manners need a little polish. Your manners in general, in truth. Quite a bit of polish.”
“Sounds like you don’t care for me as I am.”
“I do, very much. But the point is to make others like you. Your cousins, to be precise. They won’t listen to you unless they respect you. Remember what Evangeline said about you at Madame de Bressard’s? She was wrong, of course. You’re not crude or boorish at all.”